Children's airfares set to soar

By SCOTT MacLEOD

The cost of tickets for children flying by themselves on Air New Zealand will rise to the same as adults' tickets from November 1.

Their tickets will actually cost more than those for many adults, because lone children are not eligible for the cheapest fare brackets.

Air NZ used to charge half-price for unaccompanied "minors" (aged 5 to 11), but raised the price to 75 per cent of adult fares this year.

From November 1, that will become 100 per cent.

The airline yesterday defended the move by saying it cost more to fly a lone child than it did to fly any other type of passenger.

Spokesman Mark Champion said children needed more looking after than adult passengers. "We literally take them by the hand."

He said the price rises for lone children would be relatively small, because they would be introduced on the same day that the airline cut prices for the adult fares to which they were matched.

Adult fares would drop 30 per cent on the Auckland/Wellington/Christchurch route, and between 10 per cent and 12 per cent on secondary routes, he said.

The cheapest fare at present for a lone child flying Auckland to Wellington return is $193. That will rise to $238 on November 1.

The fare for a lone child flying Auckland to Christchurch return will rise from $245 to $278 on November 1.

Prices include GST, but not the $5 insurance surcharge, $2 Civil Aviation Authority levy, and $2.80 security levy.

Tim Monck-Mason, of Wellington, said he was upset about the steady rise in the cost of flying his 7-year-old nephew from Nelson for visits.

He said he had Air New Zealand receipts showing the return fare had risen from $98 in May last year, to $116 in October, to $145 in March.

When he asked the airline the cost of flying his nephew after November 1, when he thought it would be cheaper, he was stunned to be quoted $174 return.

Qantas offered to fly the boy for just $60 return, on Origin Pacific.

A spokeswoman for Qantas said that airfare included all taxes and charges. The airline generally offered half-price fares for minors.